Molecular biology of avian proteins—XII. Protein polymorphism in the stubble quail Coturnix pectoralis—And a brief note on the induction of egg white protein synthesis in wild birds by hormones

Abstract

1. 1. A wild population of Coturnix pectoralis in Australia was found to have genetically interpretable polymorphism at seven out of thirty-six loci, less polymorphism than occurs in laboratory and commercial populations of the migratory quail C. coturnix, which is variable at over half its protein loci. 2. 2. The genetically variable proteins in stubble quail include an erythrocyte esterase, an erythrocyte peptidase, liver α-glycerolphosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglucomutase, glucose-phosphate isomerase and serum albumin. 3. 3. The treatment of non-breeding female quail with a combination of progesterone and 17β-oestradiol results in synthesis of several egg white proteins in the oviduct, allowing the study of individual variation in a character normally expressed only in the breeding season.